Boyfriend guilty of brutal murder

A Black Country man who savagely beat his teenage girlfriend to death has been found guilty of her murder.

Craig Shepherd was told by a judge on Wednesday that he feared for the defendant's mental state after hearing of the ferocity of the attack on 15-year-old Natalie Mills.

A jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the teenager was attacked by Shepherd, 20, in February.

Shepherd used his feet and fists during the brutal attack on the schoolgirl.

She was so badly beaten that she was unconscious when he dragged her into an alleyway near his home and left her for dead.

Natalie was found and taken to Russells Hall Hospital but her life support machine was switched off two days later.

The judge adjourned sentencing for the preparation of psychiatric reports and remanded Shepherd, from Beechwood Road, Dudley, in custody.